The UK's chief codebreakers – Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – were asked if they could decode the message. But though it is thought to have been sent from occupied France during the D-day landings, so far none of the country's best number-crunchers have been able to fathom what it actually says.

So they're appealing for help. What do you think the code might be about? Fowl play? Or something more pheasant? Pitch in – or pigeon in – with your suggestions below. It may require ostrich of the imagination – but let's leave no stone un-terned.